1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to closures and, more particularly, pertains to disposable closures for protecting exposed connecting portions of components during handling, processing and shipping.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disposable closures, such as plugs and caps, for protecting openings, pipes, tubing, fittings, or rodlike members during handling and shipping are well known in the art.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,312 issued on Apr. 13, 1971 to Miller discloses a closure comprising a hollow cylindrical body having a closed end and an open end surrounded by an integral peripheral flange. This type of closure may be used either as a plug for insertion in bores or as a cap for installation over the ends of cylindrical members. A lip extends axially from the periphery of the flange to facilitate removal of the closure from a bore when it is desired to connect an associated fitting to the bore. The flange and the lip are made of a flexible material to ensure that the same will deform in the presence of nearby objects.
When the closure is used as a plug, the peripheral flange overlies the surface surrounding the bore in which the plug is inserted to prevent the plug from being accidentally pushed into the bore. However, in some situations, for instance, where the outer diameter of the peripheral flange is smaller than the inside diameter of the fitting to be engaged with the tube in which the plug is installed, nothing will systematically prevent the fitting to be assembled to the tube while the closure is still installed. This may result in substantial damages.
Accordingly, it has been proposed to use closures with a wide flange. Although, this solves the problem to some extent, it has been found that such closures could not be used in a great number of applications where surrounding structures interfere with the installation of this particular type of closure.